'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a direct assault on the values of the republic. The party accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarization, while urging for unity and solidarity in the face of adversity. The CWC also demanded a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence failures and security lapses that led to the attack.
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
According to the IMD, a rain event is categorised as a cloudburst if a weather station receives 100 mm of rain in one hour.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
A cloudburst hit near the base camp of the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir.
According to the officials, fresh batches of pilgrims were not allowed to leave Jammu to embark on their yatra due to closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended from Jammu due to inclement weather conditions and no fresh batch was allowed to proceed from Jammu to the base camps of the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
The dastardly dimensions of the attack are gradually sinking in even as the Government of India announced its immediate diplomatic and other retaliatory measures. It is generally expected to be followed up with punitive military action across the LoC, sooner than later, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
The Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu serves as the main base camp for the pilgrims from across the country.
The 39-year-old Anderson, as he has done on numerous occasions, opened the attack for England and once he delivered the first ball of the contest, the seasoned campaigner became the oldest player to do so since India's Lala Amarnath.
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
The General said it was "too early" to take a call on the role of Bangladesh, where a change in government may bring about a change in the relationship between it and India.
History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.
At least 15,000 pilgrims, who were stranded near the Amarnath holy cave in Jammu and Kashmir due to a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst, have been shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson said on Saturday.
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp in Nunwan, Jammu-Kashmir, for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
At least eight persons were killed in a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas on Friday evening, damaging 25 tents and three community kitchens, officials said.
The pilgrimage will be a big security challenge for the government as Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing a number of targeted killings by terrorists in recent weeks.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
The Amarnath pilgrimage resumed on Monday after remaining suspended for three days following flash floods that claimed 15 lives, while the Jammu and Kashmir administration said it would get a clear picture by Tuesday about the damage.
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
'What a lovely person he is!'
A cold wave has intensified in most parts of north India, with temperatures in the Kashmir Valley dipping below freezing point. The national capital saw a brief respite from the bitter cold during the day, but cold conditions persisted in parts of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The weather department has issued a yellow warning for cold wave, ground frost and dense fog for some places in Himachal Pradesh. There is a possibility of rain and snowfall in parts of northwest India later in the week.
Normal life was thrown out of gear in Kashmir on Saturday as most areas of the valley received snowfall, disrupting flight and railway operations and also leading to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, officials said.
The 42-day-long annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine was scheduled to commence on June 23.
From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making across industries and global diplomacy, points out Suveen Sinha.
The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
The deployment of the troops and various orders gave rise to the speculations about some major decision in the offing regarding the Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Concerned over the development, the security agencies reworked their strategy, especially keeping in mind the Amarnath Yatra beginning June 30.
The defence minister's trip to the holy cave comes on the second day of his visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
India will begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa at Southampton on June 5.
India might have lost the inaugural ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand but former all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath believes skipper Virat Kohli has done a 'fantastic job' and it is important that he continues to lead the squad.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the rescue operations launched following a flash flood near the Amarnath cave shrine -- that left 15 people dead -- has been called off and there was no report of any person missing.
The decision to keep the pilgrimage symbolic was taken after discussions with members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, officials said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired at the security forces.
The operation at the Keran Sector in Kupwara is still underway, the Army said.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
The issue of pilgrimages to the Amarnath and Vaishnodevi shrines, both located in Jammu and Kashmir, was discussed at a high-level meeting attended by Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Jitendra Singh and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jammu and Kashmir administration. The Amarnath Yatra is likely to commence on July 21.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians, as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
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